294 



ON THE LITERARY EDUCATION 



hence would not allow it to be parted with, notwithstanding the remonstrances 

 of Attains. He did not, however, appropriate it to his own use, but placed it 

 in the temple of Ceres, where Strabo informs us he liad the pleasure of see- 

 ing- it not long before it was consumed in the fire by which that temple was 

 reduced to ashes.* 



But the library and museum of most importance at this period, and which 

 most attracted the attention of the Romans, was that established under the 

 patronag-e and superintendence of the illustrious L. ^milius Paulus ; and 

 consisted of an immense number of volumes, statues, and paintings, which 

 he had imported from Epirus, upon the general plunder and destruction of that 

 unfortunate country, in consequence of its adherence to Perses, king of 

 Macedon, and which had been accumulating ever since the reign of Alexander 

 the Great. This early and valuable collection was continually augmented 

 by presents of other books from men of letters or warriors, into whose hands 

 they occasionally fell as a part of the public spoil : but was more mdebted to 

 Lucullus, who had studied philosophy under Antiochus the Ascalonite, than 

 to any one else ; and who, about the middle of the seventh century of the 

 city, added to it the whole of the royal library he had seized from Mithridates 

 upon his conquest of Pontus. 



Yet the transplantation into the Roman capital of the extensive and inva- 

 luable libraries of Aristotle and Theophrastus contributed, perhaps, more 

 than any other circumstance, to inflame the Roman people with a love of 

 Grecian literature. This w^as effected by the conquest of Syila, and ante- 

 ceded the public present of Lucullus by about fifteen years. These unrivalled 

 libraries were the property of Apellicon of Tela, who had accumulated an 

 numense collection of books of intrinsic value at an incredible expense. 

 Apellicon does not appear to have been, in any respect, a scholar : but he was 

 a man of inordinate wealth ; and, as it sometimes occurs in the present day, 

 a library was his hobby-horse, and the greater part of his rental was ex- 

 pended in augmenting it. For this purpose he ransacked all the public and 

 private collections of books in Asia : he surpassed, in many instances, the 

 offers even of the kings Eumenes and Mithridates, for valuable volumes that 

 had become scarce ; and Vv'hen he was precluded from purchasing, he fre- 

 quently induced the librarians, by considerable presents, to steal for him. 

 During the first war, however, between Mithridates and the Roman republic, 

 in which Sylla ultimately triumphed, and acquired a high degree of personal 

 glory, Athens, in an evil hour, had united her fortunes with those of the 

 Asiatic prince ; and hence, at the conclusion of the war, was left totally at 

 the mercy of the Roman conqueror. Sylla appears to have throw^n a wish- 

 ful eye upon every thing of value that lay within his reach : and having sacri- 

 legiously invaded the groves of Academus and the Lyceum, the library of 

 Apellicon was one of the next objects that captivated his attention. He was 

 determined to add it to his other treasures. Force, however, was now become 

 unnecessary: for at this very moment the bookworm Apellicon died, and he 

 met with no resistance from his relations. 



The Romans, by thus enriching themselves with the spoils of ail the world, 

 became possessed of an influx of wealth that enabled most of the citizens 

 to gratify themselves, not only in this respect, but in almost every other that 

 merely depended upon money. Of the wealth of various individuals, we may 

 form some opinion by the following anecdote. Caisar, by his unlimited libe- 

 rality in furnishing shows to the people, had incurred a debt to an enormous 

 amount ; and when on the eve of setting out for Spain, the province that fell 

 to him after his prastorship, was abruptly stopped by his creditors. On this 

 occasion Crassus stood forward as his surety, for more than two millions of 

 our own moneyf (bis millies et quingenties), or, in exact English calculation, 

 £2,018,229 3s. 4af. sterling. 



But the literature of Greece was, nevertheless, best to be acquired in Greece 

 itself; and the Romans, though they transplanted books, could not equally 



* Strab. lib. viii. p. 381. 



t Stewart's Life of Sallust, i. p. 135; Plut. in Jul. Caes. p. 712, ed. Francof. Suet, in Jul. Caes. xviii. 



